3 Tips For Growing English Lavender
Growing lavender is one the finest and easiest growing perennials out there. Lavender loves a good, dry/sandy soil... particularly where it can bake in the sun all day and be happy. When I began to plant our lavender fields, I truly knew nothing past it smelling good and looking beautiful. Did you know that there are HUNDREDS of varieties of lavender out there?
I've killed more lavender plants than I've grown so here are a couple tips I can share for better success in growing english lavender:
- Planting time: I've found that it's easiest on the lavender to plant earlier in the spring. They have a little longer time to root in before the hot, hot days of summer hit (to which they love- as long as they're somewhat established).
- Soil: Like I mentioned above- lavender loves a good sandy/draining soil. Often times, you'll see lavender mounded in fields to help with drainage. If you have a denser, clay soil- think about mending the soil for better drainage.
- Pruning: Pruning lavender can be quite fickle if you're not familiar with the chore. If you wish to prevent leggy lavender growth, it's best to prune your lavender down each season. However, there's a sweet spot with lavender; you do not want to cut into the mature woody part of the stems. I'll share more of this later on- with better photos!
Bonus Tip: I've loved using these little hand held hedge trimmers (Amazon affiliate link) for cutting back lavender. They seem quicker to shear... and that helps when there's hundreds of lavender to cut back!